A Spooky Winter Tale
by Oriax Ailaht
Summary: Mai plans to give her present to Naru that Christmas, but he forgets about and leaves it until later. What will Mai do when she is abducted by a famous supernatural being on this fateful night? NOT WRITING ANYMORE...
1. A Merry Day it is

Hello Everyone! I'm Code Halo or CH. Since its my first fanfic, please send in some reviews, whether its criticism or supporting! I need all the help I can get to start writing and improve. Thanks!

*Author's Note*******: **So, yeah, this is a Ghost Hunt story and I'm trying to think up of new cases while brainstorming other topics about zombies (weird huh) if you have any intresting cases that you would like me to write about, feel free to reveiw!

Have fun reading! ^_^

BTW I don't own Ghost HUnt!

* * *

**CHAPTER 1:**

"BEEP, BEEP, BEEP!" The alarm clock rang its endless annoying tone, as a frail arm reached out from under the warm blue quilt, and slammed down on it hard, cutting off the sound. The hand soon grabbed the device and pulled it towards her. Mai Taniyama tousled her messy bed hair and looked at the face of the cock with glazed eyes, still focusing on the hands of he clock.

"_What... is... the... time.._ **HOLY CRIPES, ITS 7:55 A.M!" **Mai screamed so loud that you could hear it all over Japan.

Mai jumped straight out of her bed and nearly slipped on the polished wood floor of her apartment as she tried to desperately reach her closet. She quickly opened the closet and changed into her usual girly outfit, along with matching pale blue scarf and coat. As she pinched the crispy toast with her forefinger and thumb, placed it between her clamped teeth and made her way to the door, she remembered something.

"_Oh, yeah. Can't forget that!" _

The young teenager zipped back into the house and grabbed a shopping bag, its edges brimming with brightly colored packages of all different sizes, and curly shiny ribbons. She wasn't going to waste the day without leaving these around at home. Mai smiled to herself softly and rushed out.

**8:14 A.M.**

Mai panted heavily as she slowly unlocked the glass door that eventually led her into the living room of Shibuya Psychic Research (SPR). She laid down the heavy burden of the presents onto the carpet floor near her desk with a grunt until a bored monotone voice echoed from the C.E.O office.

"Mai, your late. Tea." Kazuya Shibuya called.

_"The hell? I come in all tired from carrying this precious cargo and the stupid NARCISSIST just shouts for TEA?" _Mai thought as she stomped her way towards the tiny kitchenette. She set the glimmering kettle over the fire and prepared the tea. When the kettle whistled, Mai immediately switched off the fire, pour out the hot water, and prepared to serve the two. As she neared Lin's door, she didn't bother knocking once. She creaked the door open and gracefully slipped the tea next to the Chinese man. Lin nodded in a reply and continue to stare at the computer generated graphics. Mai stepped out of the room and proceded to her boss's 'den'. You see, Naru just liked being himself reading or whatever while drinking his tea. Becuase of this, its really dark and not techically the cleanest room. Mai rapped on the door lightly, until she heard him say ,"Come in."

This time, Mai flung open the door gently and set the cup onto his glass desk. "Here's your tea, Naru." He would normally make no eye contact with her but bark out a sharp remark. She braced herslef for the impact, and it came flying at her like 100 mph. "Yeah, and remeber not to make too much noise out there. Since this is not a cafe, I expect it to be nice and quiet for me." Mai fumed and started out the door. _"Stupid narcissit, cold- hearted jerk, no sense of humor..." _and the list could go on longer. However, Mai closed the door with a sigh and waltzed back to her desk. Since it was almost Christmas eve, she decided to hang out some lights and buy a small decorated tree, even if Naru disapproved.

**5:30 P.M.**

Finally, she was done. The walls hung with bright lights and the miniture tree stood on the living room table with sparkaling ornaments and a golden star sat on top of it. The doorbell rang as Mai skipped from her seat, obviously in happy mood. She ABSOLUTELY did not want Naru to ruin her day, so she didn't announce who was here. She was greeted with a hug that was a sort of combination of a humongous grizzly bear with a vice-like grip.

"MAI! IMISSEDYOUSOMUCHTHISMORNING! WHYDIDYOUHAVETOLEAVETOWORKSO-"Monk's run on sentence was soon met with a hard chop from Ayako.

"Honestly, stop trying to speak so fast to Mai while you are hugging her to death!" screamed Ayako. Monk quickly released her and sobbed teasingly.

"I'm so sowwy Mai. I just missed you so much! Why did you have to leave to work so early? 'We' could have just drove you here later," Monk grinned.

(A/N and yes, Ayako and Monk are married. Other pairings to come... XD)

"Hey Monk, please stop shoving your ass backwards so that we can all come in and see the wonderful decoration," The shrine maiden complained. Just leave it to Ayako to boss Monk around.

After hearing that statement from Ayako, and not wanting to get a another jab in the gut, Monk moved on to let the rest of the group in. Mai smiled happily to herself, as she thought of how lucky she was. The two married couple was like their loving bickering parents, John being the caring baby brother; Maskao, the annoying yet sweet sister; Lin and Madako being their uncle and aunt role models; and Yasuhara the clownish, smart, and immature cousin. For some reason, Naru didn't fit anywhere unless..."

[leaving it to your imagination]

Mai blushed lightly and steamed a bit, but said to herself, "Well, at least I have the family I love most!" Yasuhara almost interrupted her wonderful thought, and shouted "BRING IN THE CAKE AND LET'S CELEBRATE THE YEAR WITH A BIT OF F-U-N!" Everyone cheered happily as they all sat around in a lopsided circle, aching for some entertainment.

**9:30 P.M.**

After everyone had gone home from their awesome party experience, Mai decided to stay at the office a little longer and write in her diary about today's festival of fun. She slid into her desk chair and shook out a small sliver key from her back pocket. One of he desk's drawers had a tiny golden lock, to keep away those peepers like Bou-san and Yasuhara. Mai turned the key into the lock and 'Presto!' the drawer became unlocked as she reached in its murky depths to find the memento that her mother gave her, a diary. As the brunette flipped open the diary, she began to write.

_12/24/10-Christmas Eve_

_"Today was so much fun! The gang had arrived a little later than expected, but that's typical for them. Anyway, while John sliced up the noel cake, Masako was looking at him with loving eyes, how cute 3. Its so funny how Lin was able to stay with us until the end with Madoka and how Naru just stayed cooped up in his den. So ironic. All night long, we ate, sang songs from the karaoke machine, played lots of truth or dare games, and finished it off with opening presents! Ayako got mostly make-up and facial products, Bou-san got lots of little prankster tools for playing jokes, Yasuhara got this huge book that was all about trick teasers for college, John gave to Masako one of his polished crucifixes and she tied it around her neck with a happy face. That is sometimes rare to see Masako in a dreamy-state. Now I have to make tea for that narcissist so that I can go home. But I'll also give him a little present that cheap to afford! Everyone else's presents were really expensive! It almost blew all my paycheck savings. *sigh* well, got to go now!_

Mai had finally put down her pencil and closed the thin purple diary. She strode over to the kitchen and began making tea for Naru, since Lin had already gone home with Madoka. It was getting late so instead of just tea for Naru, she decided to place his favorite English tea biscuits from the connivence store, that had originated from England, onto the tray.

The hot tea sat in his favorite cup as Mai crossed the living room. Suddenly, Mai reached into her purse, and withdrew Naru's gift. It was small yet neatly wrapped in blue paper and a black ribbon swirled around the box. She positioned the gift, so that when Naru lifted his tea and ate his biscuits, he would see the Christmas present and a card that said "Happy Holidays!" signed by his clumsy assistant. She sighed once and prepared to knock onto the doors of her nocturnal boss and drop off his tea.

"Come in Mai," he shouted just before she could knock once. "_Well duh, he's like a total psychic."_ Mai stepped through the doorframe and continue to walk over to him. Just before she set down the boiling tea cup, he bit back another remark. "You were so loud. Next time when you have a party with everyone else, make sure to keep it at a bar or something."

Mai stood there dumbfounded, forgetting to guard herself from Naru's rude comments. A minute passed and Mai managed to recover but instead of shock, it was replaced with a raging storn.

"OH YEAH! WELL I'M SORRY FOR DISTURBING YOUR STUPID PEACEFUL DEN WHILE WE WERE HAVING FUN OUTSIDE! YOU NARRCISSIST JERK WHO DOESN'T GIVE A DAMN ABOUT ANYONE BUT HIMSELF" screamed Mai. She stuck out her tongue at him while slamming the door with great force.

Naru just stared out the door in disbelief, and looked down onto the swirling contents of his tea, thinking about her hateful words. But he knew that Mai would come back, because after all, he was the one in charge of her salary.

Naru merely sighed, while regaining his prideful composture. He drank his tea slowly and nibbled his busicuts delicatly, while reading his new edition of Sherlock Holmes. The tea was soon finished and Naru set it back down on the saucer, when he spotted something next to it. The present stood glistening, despite the dark and dim room. He reached out and closed his hand around it and read the cards contents, but a buzz sounded on his iPhone4 that signaled that a new client was calling him. Her present to him was soon forgotten as he turned on the phone and somewhat discarded the box into his drawer of secrets, where sometime later, he would open it and enjoy her gift.

Little did he know that he was going to regret it...

* * *

**CH: **Ha, so you thought I would finish off the chapter with Naru opening his present huh? Ya, you will see what he gets in the next chapter! What will happen to Main? Please click the review button below, so that I know I can keep on going with this story!

Over and out-CodeHalo


	2. The Night Where it all Began

Heya! I'm back with... *drum roll*... CHAPTER #2! Quick huh?

Thank you for all those who read this fanfic and saved it as favorite story, follow story/author! Especially to the following people below who reviewed this:

**Ariana Taniyama**

**melodyann75**

**Evermoon7**

I also look forward this week into writing more and hearing other responses to others! TTYL!

* * *

**Chapter 2:**

"_Hah, I guess he can be the stuck-up person he is at times! Good God! Oh well, I need to get home anyway so that I can return to work later tomorrow." _Mai sighed and trudged home on her rickety bicycle through the pitch-black night. Only the faint lampposts lighted the path home. Ten minutes later though, she had arrived at her apartment, the bright complex that contradicted with its environment with fluorescent lights and cheerful resident. Laughter filled the place, giving off a warm and comforting ambiance. She didn't feel that she was abandoned anymore. Her family was kind and loving and she had friendly people surrounding her.

As Mai wheeled her bike around the back, a beggar sat there muttering near the dumpster, his breath becoming a crispy white cloud in the frosty air. He obviously dressed poorly: filthy shirt rags that probably once elegant and new, hung from his limbs; sooty ash pants that were worn and patched up, and a ski hat that hung firmly over his unseen face, its tails frayed and dirty. The poor soul's hand were chapped and wrinkled and it seemed as if he was holding something. Mai leaned over him in curiosity, her hair blowing lightly through the wind.

"Why isn't working? Why?" he whispered to himself in his husky tone. Then Mai heard the sounds of scrapping coming from the man. She eased herself closer an saw that the person was trying to strike a match, to light a fire.

"Hey mister, what are you doing here? Do you need any money or someone to help you? If you come inside with me, the apartment is full of people who can feed you and keep you warm," said Mai as she glanced at the homeless man. He made no other response as he continued his task.

"_Ne_, come on. Answer me…" Mai asked.

At that moment, Mai had regretted even talking to this stranger. As she craned her head about ten inches to him, the base of his neck quickly swiveled around and started to stare at her. The face that looked at her was so distorted, the teen nearly cried out in fear and fright. Half of his face was burned and scared, visible blood spots encrusted at the corners of his eyes. The eyes were almost filled with pearly whiteness, save for the his tiny pupil that darted every nanosecond, wide with excitement and what seemed like...blood lust... A toothless grin was planted on his face, as his frail body shook with recognition. The deathly pale lips parted slowly as he tried to speak with much difficulty.

"M-M-Master...I-I found her... What s-s-sh-should I do?"

Mai took a sharp intake of breath and started to feel dizzy. Through the blur, the brunette dimly saw the man glaring down at her and cackling gleefully for the longest time. She started to sway ever so slightly and felt as if her head was in a poisonous cloud. Her legs buckled underneath and soon gave way, as Mai collapsed onto the cold cement, shivering. The homeless person, whom she thought was innocent, crouched at her level and said something once more, but with a different voice that sounded more girlie.

"Hehehehehe, no one loves you but I." And with that, Mai felt herself fall into a twisting abyss, feeling her throat cry a plea, but the vocal chords silent. Her world went black and oddly, cold.

_**Meanwhile at SPR**_

Naru listened intently through his mobile to the frantic client who had called him earlier.

"So, would you like an appointment next Monday at 2 in the afternoon, or tomorrow 9:00 a.m?" inquired Naru

"Please Shibuya-san... I need you to investigate tomorrow because the activity has gotten worse throughout the week. And I also want to make a request that you come to the apartment where I work on block 2 building 5: The one that has a shrine next to the sliding doors. We can even pay you a hefty sum later after you solve the case!" said the client, who went by the name of Ayumi Natsume.

Silence reigned between the line until Naru spoke up.

"All right, first thing is that I do care for the money. I will need it to pay my employees, so make sure its a equal amount for two people." stated the Prince of Narcissists. Natsume-san thought to herself _"Does it really matter unless it's about himself?"_

"And also, prepare three rooms, in case we want to start the investigation right away. One room for the base and two other rooms for sleeping purposes," Naru said.

"Ah y-yes. So you will take it? One moment please." Over the din of the phone, Naru could hear the landlady shout out, "OK PEOPLE! GET YOUR LAZY BUTTS OFF THE FLOOR AND START CLEANING THE THREE ROOMS NEAR THE LOBBY... YES IT'S IN THE SUPPLY ROOMS. NOW MOVE IT, MOVE IT!"

It was Naru's turn to sweat drop, which was rare, and mumbled, _"She was probably the wife of a drill sergeant..."_ but cleared his throat before she came back and said "Thank you for your cooperation. We will see you tomorrow."

As Naru's thumb slide over the end button, he quickly scrolled down his list of contacts until he reached the cell phone number of his bright assistant. The phone rang for a long time and Naru felt his body sag into the snug wheelchair, until a peppy voice that could only be Mai picked up.

"Hi, Mai here. Sorry for not answering your call in time. I'm probably busy with stuff or couldn't hear the ring tone. Gom-"

The voice message didn't even finish, as Naru hung up and slammed his phone hard against the desk, making a large crack on the glass surface. He sighed and leaned against his cushioned chair and rubbed his temples. His tense back relaxed as it hit the leather of the seat.

_"She probably is sleeping already, even though its 11:10. I'll talk to her later when she comes to work. But no matter, she will be late anyway, that baka..." _Naru blinked slowly several times, until her drifted off to sleep._  
_

**_Naru should have listened to the entire voice mail. When he hung up, the message was still playing until a dark shadow came out of nowhere and smashed the white cell phone until it reduced to glimmering pieces of plastic. The shadow grinned faintly and left with a swish, leaving a limp bloody body in the dumpster..._**

**_

* * *

_**

_HAHAHAHA_! I finally finished chapter 2! Oh and btw, some of you might not know this but Japan doesn't had street names but blocks. I never knew that until I looked it up in this link. Real helpful. It's on my profile if you need it.

Yes i know I had typos in my previous chapter so I will check this time for this chapter!

-Over and Out CH


	3. Naru's Bad Day

Hehehehe! I'm back again! Since it's almost end of November and the beginning of December, I'll say…

"Merry Chr-!"

No wait. That's not right! It's still November for God's sake! I should be saying…

"Happy Thanksgiving!"

Yes, that's right! I'll be celebrating tomorrow so I can't get turkey yet. *Pouts*

Thank you all immensely for reviewing! It gives a lot of support onto writing this over break and through winter. Awesome reviews so far, but need more please :D

* * *

**Chapter 3:**

**8:00 A.M. **

Naru sat slumped in the wheelchair, typing away on his new laptop that Lin had bought for him, after the previous PC that had crashed in the middle of processing files. Glancing at the clock on the right-hand side of the screen, he quickly snatched up the black handheld device and let his fingers drift around the icons on the phone. The index finger soon reached the texting app and started to rapidly text to Mai.

"_I hope she is still awake….."_

"_**Oi, wake up Baka!"**_

"_**You're going 2 be late 4 new case." **_the words appeared onto the glass display._**  
**_

The narcissist sighed nervously, thinking that if Mai wasn't on time, he would have to cut her paycheck by a bit. As Naru touched the send button and slipped it into his back pocket, Lin popped the wooden door open and nodded a greeting.

"Oh, and by the way Naru, where's Mai?" asked the older Chinese man before wandering off to his office.

"I'm not sure really. I just finished texting her and she doesn't seem to be waking up anytime soon."

Lin stared at him silently and continued his way to his room until he mumbled in front of his door, "It's kinda rare for Naru to be _**Texting**_ to anyone, let alone Mai…"

" Lin, go back to work." Naru retorted, after hearing the man's tiny monologue with his keen ears.

Lin smirked in reply to him and finally exited from the hall into his office. Naru continued to linger about for a minute or two and sighed in defeat, hands running through his bed head. He had been sleeping in his agency, his head on the keyboard, so of course it hurt like hell to sleep on the upraised flat keys. The 17-year old grumbled silently, replaying Lin's comment about him texting to Mai.

He pushed back his chair slightly, propped up his long legs atop the desk and peered at his bottom drawer with the corner of his eye, where he kept all his secrets. The pale right hand moved slowly, without thinking, towards it, trying to grasp the black iron handle. He was so close that his fingertips lightly brushed the intricate carvings of the handle. Naru hesitated, but with a new determination, his hand managed to clasp onto the drawer, when the front door burst open with a "WHOOSH".

"MAI! IMISSED YOUSO-"Bou-san launched himself into the air, thinking that he was going to be able to pounce onto Mai and give her a surprise hug. Ayako didn't bother stopping him, as the man pumelted to the carpeted floor with a smack that shook the room.

"Ow, why did you trip me Ayako? I was just going to hug Mai," he whimpered while rubbing his sore spot on his head.

"Hey, look for yourself. I was nowhere near your idiotic leg, and plus, Mai isn't here," Ayako scoffed.

The entire gang gaped with disbelief and did a quick 360 sweep around the front of the room. Mai was always here before them with Naru and Lin.

"You're right Matsuzaki-san. She isn't here, in fact, she will be arriving late because she has been sleeping in lately." explained a cold voice that floated from the C.E.O den.

Everyone glanced at him and John cried out from the back, "Have you tried calling her yet? She would probably wake up from her ring tone." Naru stood there in deep thought, his eyebrows furrowing with his head slightly bent. "Fine, I'll call her. In exchange, all you wild animals sit down and be quiet while Lin gets the tea."

Not wanting to deal with Naru's anger, a loud shuffle of feet scurried towards the couches and in a span of 5 seconds, everyone was seated without a single peep. The boy pinched the bridge of his nose to calm himself, down in the hallway, as he waited for Mai to pick up again. The same peppy voice was heard again over the quiet space in SPR.

"Um... hi guys. I guys you are wondering where I am. Today I have a outing with my best friend and can't make it t-" SLAM

Jagged black and clear pieces of glass skidded across the surface of the hallway floor as his arm twitched with annoyance. Bou-san and Yasuhara hugged each other for comical reasons, but also because they were scared of facing Naru's wrath. Ayako, Masako, and John sat there with passive faces, but deep down, they as scared as the two male pals. Naru stormed in, looking well beyond pissed and furious and gave his signature glare, that had been fueled up with his new burning anger, towards the gang. He had taken a whole new level. Everyone gulped, but stayed as cool as possible, with sweat drops slowly dripping down their faces.

A hand reached out from behind the hall and grasped onto Naru's shoulder. Lin walked into view with Madako in tow, glaring at her former student.

"I thought you had better sense than that. And now I have to buy you a new cell phone, which will come off of my budget, big time." Lin solemly said.

"Shut it Lin. I don't care for a phone, and besides, I can always cut your salaries in half if you want, if you continue to argue with me." Naru replied with a icy face.

Suddenly Naru spun around quickly trying to slam the back of his fist into Lin's nose. Luckily, being Nau's mentor and guardian, Lin ducked and blocked Naru's attack with his left arm. Lin's legs then wrapped around Naru and twisted it in a way, where Naru fell and his body flat onto the ground, and Lin securing his arms behind his back in a tight grip. Lin looked at him with a disgusted look mixed with fury. Madako with an innocent smile, knelt down near Naru and whispered to him.

"Hey Naru, you might as well apologize to Lin about breaking the iPhone4. It cost him a lot of cash just to buy it for his student." she emphasized.

Naru struggled to get up but Lin only pinned him down harder while Madako continue to speak with the teenage boy. She had carried one with the angel facade and patted Naru lightly across the back with a rolled up newspaper.

"Lin is also disappointed by how his little student can't control his temper. He wanted to punish you with a harsh beating and lecture, but I say otherwise. How about a deal, if you don't apologize within the next ten minutes, I will reveal your hidden weakness and show the world your 'Achilles' heel'," she threatened and then stood up and strode over the Lin was and waited.

Naru grunted out a response that sounded like, "Fine." and Lin slowly let go of Naru's arms and backed away cautiously, in case another fight was about to begin. The now calm teen wobbled slightly as he tried to sit in a kneeling position. He looked Lin straight in the eye and mumbled, "I'm sorry that I lost control and broke the phone. Please forgive me." And he bowed the Japanese way, not looking up at his superior.

The air was still, everyone held their breath as if there was no tomorrow. John prayed silently to God, hoping that this case would be forgotten, Bou-san crossed his fingers and whispered to Buddha, and Ayako closed her eyes and folded her hands. Yasuhara didn't dare reach up to clean his now foggy glasses from the heated match, and Masako sat there with her eyes wide open, waiting for Lin to either give a lecture for being rude or to be generous and overlook his behavior.

Lin sighed and nodded silently to beckon Naru to lift his head. And just when he did, Lin raised his hand and his arm went into full motion, the wind of his arm rushing by, as he approached Naru's dull face, almost slapping him...until he stopped. The two men stared at each other until Lin lowered his hand.

"Why? Why didn't you slap me? You always did when I WAS A KID!" Naru yelled in anguish.

"Two reasons being _Oliver Davis_.

1) I didn't strike you because when you tried to do a backhand punch, I blocked you and it didn't reach my face. That was payback.

2) Because you are already seventeen, you do not need to be considered as a child and you can already learn from your mistakes. No physical contact is to be made because you can already realize your errors."

"I will forgive you this time. But if something happens again, I will let Madako torture you." With that, Lin chuckled and Madako burst out laughing.

Naru sat there embarrassed by Lin's statement and lowered his head as a blush began to appear on his face. He had been finally played. No one in the room, besides the two grown adults, giggled or laughed. They all were frozen, unsure what Lin and Madako had meant about 'torture' or 'Achilles' Heel', but soon unfroze from their positions and started questioning them. Lin and Madako dashed out from the area and managed to escape with the gang and Naru behind at SPR.

As the dust cleared, due to the flurry of their getaway, a note fluttered gently to the floor. Yasuhara picked up the the piece of paper and adjusted his glasses so he could see, until he turned around nervously towards the confused group.

"Guys... Lin and Madako wrote that they have already left with the van to the area of the new case and it says that it is almost 9:00," Yasuhara stuttered with a nervous smile.

Silence wrapped around the room for a couple minutes, until Bou-san broke the ice. **"OH CRAP, CRAP, CRAP! WE GOTTA GO NOW!"**

Feet rushed to the door as everyone tried to slip on their shoes/boots/sandals and make way to the second van in the parking lot. Naru rushed back to the office before the van drove off and locked the door behind him. As he tripped in the snow, the door of the van opened, leaving Naru thud into an empty seat. With everyone buckled in tight, Bou-san tried to not drive past the speed limit, as they tried to catch up with the other members.

* * *

Phsaw! Finally done with this chapter...Hope you enjoy! Try to guess what Naru's weakness is...but its probably too obvious. BTW I might not be able to update as much anymore, because school is going to start soon and I bet, that there will be tons of HW, but I might be able to squeeze in a little bit each week, so bear with me for the next chapter.

didn't know what to call the "hitting Lin with the back of his fist" so I just called it that.

Ciao,

CH


	4. Dreams

**Chapter 4: **

"Aww Bou-baby, are we there yet~?" asked Yasuhara teasingly as the car severed sharply around the bridge into a freeway lane, making the young adults fall over towards the right of the car.

"WHAT DO YOU THINK I AM DOING, IDIOT!" yelled Bou-san from the front. He continued to apply pressure to the pedal as the van accelerated across the tar road. The monk gritted his teeth in frustration and clutched the wheel, hoping that they would be able to reach their destination without the client being furious.

"You know I have a wife now, right?" Bou-san murmured under his breath.

Although, Bou-san had no idea where the apartment complex was, Masako mysteriously knew its location. _Strange…_ thought Ayako who fidgeted with her nails from the passenger seat. For the remainder of the drive, no one spoke a word as they tried to edge away from Naru and his furious purple aura that emitted from him and filled the car with dread. John sweatdropped as he thought of all the familiar reasons why Naru would totally pissed.

1) His pride was hurt by Lin and was completely humiliated in front of everyone.

2) His iPhone 4 was broken and he couldn't contact anyone.

_Naru was certainly having a bad day. From the very start._

Suddenly, the car pulled up quickly, this time making Masako jerk to John and landing her head onto his shoulder. Realizing the contact that made on his shoulder, John snapped himself out of his thoughts and blushed as Masako pulled away from the priest and quickly became interested on her seatbelt. Her short bangs covered her purple irises as she fingered the the rough leather of the secure thing while her face turned red.

A sound of a snapshot rang out of nowhere when Masako leaned against John. Yasuhara grinned, his glasses glinting with glee, in his hands a camera that had high resolution and could zoom in so well that it can actually capture all the strands of hair on someone.

"GIVE THAT TO ME, YASUHARA. OR ELSE I'LL CALL GOD TO MAKE SURE YOU WILL NEVER REST AND BECOME A GHOST!" John cried as he tried in avail to grab the camera from the smiling maniac. Unfortunately for the Australian, Yasuhara threw and passed the device up front to Ayako and Bou-san. It landed in Ayako's lap as she stared at surprise at the photo shot!

"Are you sure about that? After all we are ghost hunters? Oh The Tragedy! I will be exorcised by my loving Bou-san~!" said Yashuara, clutching his chest as if he was dying and looking up at the ceiling with an open mouth like he was going to recite another dramatic phrase.

"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! How cute!" Ayako exclaimed as her husband tried to lean over her and take a glance at the picture of Masako's blushing face on John's shoulder.

"Hey can I see, plea-" but he was silenced with a WHAM as Ayako's heavy Coach purse slammed onto his head. She yanked the camera closer to her and hugged it from Bou-san.

"Why did you hit me! I just wanted to-"

"JUST KEEP YOUR EYES ON THE DAMN ROAD!" yelled Ayako as she indicated her finger at the glass window. In a few moments, a large white food truck swam into view and the van was speeding behind it, the distance between them shortening by every second.

"Oh shit!" gasped Yasuhara and closed his eyes tightly, waiting for the ear-splitting shriek of the tires and the explosion of the airbags and glass. But just a narrow millisecond, Bou-san steered clear from the truck and squeezed through the small gap between the massive car and the freeway railing.

"Phew, that was a -"

"What the hell? You nearly killed us!" screeched Ayako as she flicked his forehead. He sighed and kept his eyes trained on the road while trying to soothe his sore spot. The three who sat in the back chuckled quietly and finally dropped to sleep due to the long conversation as the car drove on without any incident.

* * *

**(Naru's POV)**

_I watched as all the others laugh and argue throughout the van, unlike our van where everything was quiet and Mai was always drooling in her sleep and Lin driving, no question about it. I used to be able to read my book without and distractions. Why did Lin have to force me to be a passenger in this crazy car? Oh well, now everything is quiet, I should get some sleep. God, I have a headache. _

As I blinked rapidly,my body gave way, so that my head was leaning against the window and my body slumped in the car seat. Masako woke up for a brief moment and steadily grabbed the camera that was on the floor. She clicked the shutter that was pointed to me (without me knowing), making sure it didn't utter a sound and slipped the camera back onto the floor again and drifted off into sleep with a smirk planted on her face as she held her hand against John's and continued to sleep.

**

* * *

(Naru's dream)**

_I felt myself spiral down __into a dark place and almost landed abruptly but I didn't feel any apin. Instead I saw myself floating gently towards another man, which resembled me a lot._

_"Hey there__ Otōto! God it's been a while!" my younger self stuck out my tongue at me. I growled with impatience thinking, "Who the hell can invade my dreams..." but then it hit me. 16-year-old Eugene Davis was speaking to me._

_"Um..Hello? Earth to Idiot Scientist!" my brother said as he waved a hand in front of my face. _

_"I can hear you loud and clear Gene. What is it that you want? It's not normal for you to be visiting me in my dreams. Normally it's Mai's." I replied coldy as I saw him back away with mocking fear._

_"Ohhhh...How scary Noll!" he said brightly. But in an instant, Gene's cheerful face turned dark as his blue eyes stared back at me with seriousness. _

_"Noll, I know that you are mad about how Mai can't make it to the case. BUT, don't be mad at her..." He continued to stare at me with his eyes as I said nothing and stared back at him like a staring contest. _

_With a sigh and breaking off our contact, Gene strode over to me and clamped a hand on my shoulder. "This is what I mean bro," he exclaimed as he ran his hand over my face again, but this time, instead of the dark black background that surrounded us, I found myself hunkering near a old brick wall where brightly lit lamps shone from the nearby windows._

_A delicious smell wafted out from the bottom floor, revealing a large crispy chicken that had just finished roasting, it's skin crackling from the heat. A small porcelain bowl was filled to the brim with a liquid sauce that bubbled with an appetizing fragrance. A family of four sat around the table with plates already piled high with hot steaming white rice and a small portion of grilled vegetables. _

_The room filled with silence and then in one moment, one of the children screamed with delight and immediately tackled the food while her twin sister followed in pursuit, only this time she was more polite, bowed respectively to her parents and dug in as well. The parents laughed with glee as they watched the two twins devour the food on the table and started to eat._

_"Just like us when we were little huh Noll, all happy and cheerful," grinned Gene as the scene in front of us dissolved into nothingness. AS my loving brother spun and turned to face me, his eyes turned cold again like mine and he lowered his voice into a whisper._

_"Just a heads up, you might be surprised to know that Mai is in danger...And it is only the beginning of it all"_

_"Wait, what-" I started until I was cut off by Gene._

_"Oh man! I ran out of time. Gotta go! Bye Lil' bro'!" and with that he vanished among the dark. "Go back, the team needs you..." he said over his shoulder._

_Heeding his words that being here was pointless with no dream guide and that I should wake up now, I closed my eyes and concentrated into returning to my body._

**(Back in the real world)**

I stirred and moaned at a hand that shook me awake. I popped my eyes open as I glanced at the face that was staring back at mine. It was the idiotic monk.

"Naru-bou, we have reached our destination."

I freed myself from the seat belt and stretched for a moment outside of the van and started instructing everyone to bring in the equipment. As I scanned around the area, I looked at the apartment complex, where out client was waiting.

"Somehow...it looks familiar..." I said

* * *

OMG! Finally done with this chappie! Sorry for not writing as fast you guys! I was kinda on writer's block until I began typing this up, my dad took away the screen for my desktop over the school days, I had a ton of tests in one week, and I have been working on my zombie story I had created w/ my friends.

If you would like me to post the zombie story on Fanfiction in the anime/misc. section, send in a pm to me! So far I have written 4 chapters and try to update regularly on both stories! ^_^

Well... Merry Christmas people/Have a happy new year/Happy Holidays! PLEASE PLEASE REVIEW!


	5. And So We Meet again

**Chapter 5:**

**Ahhh...It's almost the end of 2010... a great and fantastic year for most of you yes? And now to make some resolutions for luck on 2011. Please enjoy this chapter as a gift for the New Year and may the best wishes fall upon you on the course through another year. **

"**My resolution is to draw better fantasy characters and to write more on fanfiction before I grow old." But don't you worry readers, I'm not leaving just yet!** *winks*

**PLEASE! I beg of you to review please! I want to end with a successful year and with at least 15 views so review once you are done! Don't forget! R&R And thank you NalaMoon who has been kind enough to review on the last 2 chapters so please follow her example! :D**

**

* * *

**

**(Naru's POV)**

Currently, I had just woken up from my dream with Gene and was ordering everyone around. And I did not wake up on the right side of the bed today. Could this day get any worse!

In frustration, my left eye twitched thinking that where the hell was my tea and someone control these hooligans. But reality struck me. _Mai was gone...There was no one who could serve my tea like Mai can...DAMN IT! Why does she have to be visiting a "friend" at this hour?_ While everyone was busy unloading all the equipment out of the vans, I snatched my black notebook that was lying on the top of thermometers and camera box. I thumbed through the pages until I came to the entries of the recent case. Apparently, we had come to the right address and luckily on time too, so we can't upset the client.

I sighed with fatigue as the team traveled to and fro the building, dropping off loads of equipment. With long strides and my notebook in my hand, I strode to the doors, concentrating on reading the information in my notebook. People stared at me as I dodged and avoided them and surprisingly, not colliding with a pole when I still was flipping the pages at a fast pace.

(A/N: Naru's ninja XD)

Just when I entered the automatic doors to the lobby, I quickly snapped my book shut, processing all of the knowledge, and glanced around the front. A brightly lit hall illuminated the lobby, creating a cheery atmosphere with the sparkly clean tables and the comfortable chairs/sofas. The smell of mint drifted through the rooms and a fireplace sat unlit, with a wreath on the mantle and a spring on mistletoe dangling. A Christmas tree already stood towering the people, as it stretched until it almost reached the second floor of the building, the star ornament making a dazzling light.

I spotted a chubby woman approach me with a pompous type of aura. She wore a plain burgundy shirt and a pair of jeans with a white apron over her clothes. As walked over to the front desk and took off the apron and hung it over her chair, she dusted herself off and faced me with a frown on her face. I immediately swiped out my business card and slid it onto the glass desk, thinking that this woman wasn't familiar with me yet. The woman scrutinized at the card, until her face brightened up and beamed.

"Welcome Shibuya-san! I'm sorry that I didn't recognize you. Busy day today, my apologies. Sit, sit, we have much to discuss," she said brightly as she ushered me to a small plush couch.

With relief that I didn't have to stand up too long because of my tiredness, I sat down and my elbows rested on the coffee table and my head perched on them in a business-like way. "Commence," I stated as I snapped my fingers to motion Lin, who just walked in, to document our conversation.

"Well, as you may know, my name is Natsume Yoko, the landlady of the apartment. Lately, we have experienced rapping noises through the night around 12:00 midnight. At first I thought it was a person just making a racket every night to arouse the rest of the occupants, just for the fun of it. I then called all the renters for a short meeting if they have been doing anything suspicious at that godly hour. But no one said that they were awake at that time and were either sleeping, go to the restrooms, get something to eat, or come home from their part-time jobs. That was about two weeks ago. Pushing this fact aside, I continued as if everything was normal but-"

"But?" I inquired as I raised my eyebrow in interest as Lin typed away at a furious pace.

"But... lately blood writings started to appear on the walls of the cafeteria that is adjoined to this building. Civilians would always come down and enjoy a breakfast the cook has provided for us before leaving for the day. My son, whose name is Aki, came down to the tables early in the morning to eat and work on his college work. He suddenly screamed and that alerted me. When I came down, blood writings were painted across the walls. They kept repeating the words: _"Cold, Cold, Cold"_. And that was only a week ago." Natsume-san concluded.

I furrowed my brow with confusion as Lin continued to stare at me, probably deep in thought too.

"Not only that," injected Natsume-san. "Just a couple days ago, one of the residents, a young man named Ryo who is in his thirties, was walking through the halls in broad-daylight and he fell down a flight of stairs. When I rushed over to see what was wrong with him, his face was horror-stricken and his hands and feet were like real ice cold and the skin was blueish color. He kept himself locked in his room with the heater always on. Every time I tried to talk to him, Ryo would always murmur, _"He pushed me. He's going to kill me."_ It's just really strange..."

Suddenly, a shriek was heard from above us, piercing the peaceful music that played in the lobby. Lin sprang into action as he slammed down his laptop onto the table and jumped to his feet and clambered up to the second level, where the sound was heard from. I followed close behind, while pulling out my cellphone-. _Aw shit... I broke mine_. But luckily, I rummaged around my back pocket to find my old walkie-talkie that I haven't use yet.

We walked through the dimly lit hallways after running up, and I switched the walkie-talkie on. A static came about for about a couple of seconds, until someone answered it.

"John here. What's wrong Shibuya-san?" The priest asked with his heavy accent.

"We are having another weird occurrence somewhere in this complex. Did you hear it? I said while briskly walking to the elevator where Lin was.

"Yes. Everyone was scared half-out of their wits. But otherwise we are fine." he replied

"Good. Now I want you and Masako to investigate a bit around the rooms, in case there is any spirits. Lin and I will try to locate the scream. If you have already finished unloading the equipment, please tell Matsuzaki-san to prepare charms for everyone. But rest-assured, we still haven't found the source of the noise so currently, there is nothing you can do at the moment. Good work." I finished and turned the dial of the device to ease the rough volume.

* * *

**(Normal POV)**

"Ack! Finally Naru-bou's giving us a break from doing all this heavy duty stuff. But I feel bored to death right now." sighed the blond monk as he leaned back against the outside of the van.

"Well...you can always play with me~!" coaxed Yasuhara as he stared back at him. _No way in hell am I going to hang out with this perv,_ Monk thought as he retreated into the building. He soon saw his wife bent over the desk, scribbling in some charms with her handy calligraphy brush. She wiped her forehead and held out a charm to him.

"Here. Just in case you don't get into an accident or anything." she said grumpily as she handed the charm to him. Bou-san smiled with gratitude and placed a small kiss on her cheek while grabbing the charm from her. Ayako's face became a brilliant shade of crimson that matched with her fiery hair and attitude.

"W-Well, wha-whatever you stupid monk...I'm hungry because I haven't eaten anything this morning yet," she blurted out as she lightly whacked her husband on the head.

"Hai, hai. My lovely wife. I'll get you something to eat," Monk responded and placed the charm into his back pocket and walked off to the cafeteria. _Now something to fill her stomach..._

As soon as he hit the flight of stairs that lead down below street level to the eating room, he wondered, _Why the hell was the eatery underground?_ Shrugging off his question, he proceeded down, until he came across a buffet lined with freshly chopped fruits and vegetables. Three different types of soups lined the counter against a pale wall, as people stood and grabbed their food. A hearty middle-aged man dressed in a chef's clothing, was frying something in an iron wok, while his little assistant was babbling away at the customers, ringing up their purchases on an old cash register. The young and old filed through the rooms, holding their trays filled with dishes piled high with food. Bou -san gaped at the people passing by, and quickly stole a spot in the line.

While grabbing two trays and a couple of healthy snacks for later, he glanced up at the menu above, trying to decide what to order. Suddenly, he heard a small chuckle from behind the counter and cash register. His eyes met with violet purple irises that glinted with glee. The man who Monk was facing was a teenage young boy that had ebony like hair, was as tall as the man in front of him and had slightly pale skin. _Just like a certain vampire we know, hehehe._ Grinned Bou-san as he shook hands with the young man.

"Yo there. What's your name?" the boy said as he showed off an goofy smile. He had a friendly deposition and seemed to be a likable fellow.

"You can call me Bou-san, I work partly with the psychic I take it that you are Natsume Aki right? From your name tag I mean" he said.

"Yep! I'm the son of the landlady and the old geezer over there." the teen pointed teasingly at his father who was working in the kitchen by himself.

"Wow! Can't believe that your dad serves all these people here everyday with such deluxe food! I mean, look at all this!" Monk cried as he threw his hands up and twirled around.

The younger man smirked as he said " I know right. A high-class chef who is known from all around the world, and is now settling in with his lovely wife and his two sons in a rundown apartment. Speaking of which, your probably want some info about this place huh?"

"Not now really 'cause I'm on break for a moment, but because your dad is a great cook and all, can he make a cheese and bacon omelet, a Belgian waffle with whip cream, and two cups of coffee?"

"No problem. It will be done in a couple of minutes!" Aki said brightly as he jotted down the orders and called out, "next!"

Bou-san walked over to one of the chairs behind the buffet and relaxed in its curve, as he watched the platform screen t.v. that hung over an archway. A hallway was connected to the arch and just beyond that was an elevator could bring the person to the second floor and above. Suddenly. a young girl walked past him to the hall, wearing a multicolored scarf and a small cerulean kitted beret. The former Buddhist monk blinked with surprise as he stared at the girl, who turned the corner. _Get yourself together man! She's probably another renter._ While collecting the breakfast from Aki, Takigawa couldn't stop thinking about that girl. The girl's outfit was almost the same combo a certain assistant wore and was the same height, same hair color, and...

_Oh, my god._

Abandoning the food at a nearby table, Bou-san hastened his pace towards the hallway, until he rounded the corner he saw earlier. The girl stood in the shaft motionless, until she heard footsteps behind her. At that point she spun around, which gave him a quick glimpse of her face.

"MAI!" he shouted in anguish as the elevator's doors slammed shut.

* * *

**(Meanwhile on the 2nd Floor, naru's POV again...)**

"Oi, Steve! Wake up! Don't bale out on me here!" cried Yoko as she desperately tried to shake a young boy, no older that 5 years old. He stood slumped against the wall, and his eyes in a certain daze. He looked related to Yoko, with the black hair and purple eyes, but more of a smaller version.

"Great, now we have my son who has the same symptoms as Ryo. What should we do!" Yoko whimpered in misery as she shakily pulled out her cellphone, dialing 911. In a hurreid slur, she finished the phone call and pocketed the cellphone back into her jeans.

Lin and I stared at the young boy's body, whose temperature was dropping really fast and his skin growing paler and paler. The two of us continued to inspect the boy a bit further until a couple minutes later. A ding was heard in the opposite hallway on the second floor, signaling that an elevator shaft had just arrived. The landlady jumped up with relief as she rushed over to the hall saying, "They're here! Medical attention is required immedia-" She paused in the middle of her sentence, gaping. With worried look on his face, Lin to Yoko, asking her what's wrong. Sweat steadily poured down her face, as she slowly pointed in front of her with her frail hands. I trailed after him, only to see our client become rigid with fright.

"T-There's n-n-nobody here." she stammered as we glanced at the elevator in disbelief. Truth to be told, there was no one occupying the elevator and it closed as it descended upwards to the other floors. I heard a tapping of keys beside me as Lin expertly clicked the keyboard with only one hand, the other balancing the laptop. _Strange, was there someone in the elevator, or was it malfunctioning?_ With my brain deep in thought, Lin patted Yoko-san on the back and lightly pushed her back to where Steve was lying. I reluctantly followed behind them, slowly with uneven steps. I suddenly was thrown out of my trance when something collided into me.

My heart nearly jumped out, as I adjusted my gaze to see a young girl about a year or two younger than me. She wore a bright colors over herself as she was sprawled to the floor, and rubbing her head.

"Ouch...must have hit something again," she muttered as she tried to stand up. But that voice was so...so... familiar. She turned and looks at me with light brown eyes that were hidden behind some pale sunglasses. My brain started to fumble around with the information my eyes sent through, until I finally realized who she was.

"M-M-Mai?" I croaked out, as I tried to keep my anger that was flowing out of me rapidly. Why was she here? Wasn't she supposed to be somewhere? I clenched the hem of my black shirt as I stared at her with cold unforgiving eyes. My right foot became agitated for not being able to walk up to her and knock some sense into her. _Does she know what I have been through all day?_

The girl quickly swerved her head to look at her surroundings until they finally saw me. She gasped and backed away slightly, still on the floor. With a shaky breath, she rasped out,

"W-Wh-Who are y-you?"

* * *

hahaha finally done with this chapter! I was a bit on writer's block again on how Mai meets Naru again. Sorry for the delay! I might not be updating for a while because of stupid school and all so please wait until its around Spring break or something earlier than that! Too lazy to edit so I apologize for the mistakes if there is any. Almost 3,000 words, wow and I have to sleep soon. Happy reading and **R&R! **

**3...2...1...HAPPY NEW YEAR! **See Ya on January 1st 2011! **  
**


	6. Total Anger Issues

**Chapter 6:**

**Flashback~**

_"M-M-Mai?" I croaked out, as I tried to keep my anger that was flowing out of me rapidly. Why was she here? Wasn't she supposed to be somewhere? I clenched the hem of my black shirt as I stared at her with cold unforgiving eyes. My right foot became agitated for not being able to walk up to her and knock some sense into her. Does she know what I have been through all day?_

_The girl quickly swerved her head to look at her surroundings until they finally saw me. She gasped and backed away slightly, still on the floor. With a shaky breath, she rasped out,_

_"W-Wh-Who are y-you?"_

**End of Flashback~**

When I heard her voice, I felt my eyes widen a just less than a fraction, as she looked at me in wonder. I felt my breath caught in my throat, my jaw muscles barely moving, and couldn't help but almost wanted shout at her, for frightening me. Clearing my throat and adjusting the collar of my shirt, I tried to control the tone of my voice that was slowly rising into an angry growl.

"Mai…" I started. "Don't start playing games with me. Why are you here while we are having an investigation? Do. You. Think. This. Is. Some. Kind. Of. A. Practical. Joke?" I spat, with more bitterness than the last. Glaring into her eyes, she continued to cock her head slightly to the side.

"W-W-what? B-B-but I don't know who-"

_"Release your pain...release it..." _I heard a voice echoing in the back of my mind

With that, my patience snapped and in a blur of movement, my hand was tight around the girl's neck and slammed her against the wall. She struggled in my grasp, gasping for air and clawing my forearm in futile attempts as I continued to stare at her eyes. My body tensed and became rigid as I slowly hardened my grip, making the girl sob with desperate pleas. I still held onto her neck as I raised her about 10 inches off the ground, making here look down at me. Thoughts rushed through my head. _Who did she think she was? Why was SHE here? Why did she betray my trust? WHY? _I felt a surge of power pulse through my body, wanting to crush her.

_"Don't hesitate over a little girl...she doesn't love you back..." _the voice kept repeating. _"SHUT UP. SHUT UP SHUT UP!" _I mentally howled out as I tried to fight back the mysterious voice.

My hand tightened suddenly as I brought myself back tor reality. When I felt her hot tears drop onto my skin, I averted my gaze from her. From the corner of my eye, I saw her arms deliberately leave my arms, to remain hanging in the air. She continued to keep her focus on my, her head almost lolling over to her side, as she whimpered out quietly one word.

"Why?"

**_"KILL HER!" _**The inner voice screamed through my brain as my nerves zipped to and fro around in my limbs. My PK energy suddenly jolted from my body, causing her to squirm more in pain and making her screaming a silent scream. Footsteps were heard in the hallway behind me as my face twisted with agony and pain. A screech was heard behind me.

"NOLL!" shouted Lin

I heard a sharp "thwack" behind me and felt my grasp slipping away at the neck. My eyes fluttered out of focus and I felt my body slump to the floor and me slipping into an eternal abyss of darkness...

**(Lin's POV)**

I sighed in relief that I got in time, as I stared at Noll's lifeless body. My hand was still in a stiff position I used to knockout him. Good thing I took massage classes to learn the pinpoint areas of the body. I ran my hand through my hair in confusion. _What in God's name, happened here? Why did Naru almost unleash his PK powers? __That fool could have died and his parents would kill me, and also, this innocent person would also be in big trouble,_ I thought. Glancing at the girl against the wall, cowering in fear, she resembled someone... but before I could think about that, I had to help our client.

Seeing Yoko-san on her knees on the verge of crying, I lifted her arm over my shoulder and led her to the elevator.

"Don't worry Ma'm. We will find out what happened and we will care for Steve. Just rest downstairs with the rest of the team. They will help you." I reassured her.

She briefly nodded as the elevator shaft closed and descended to the ground. I twirled around to see the girl continue to roll herself against the wall, away from Noll's body and me. Seeing her fear, I tried to approach her in a kindly way (A/N: if Lin could) and held out my hand to her delicate frame. Her brown hair shrouded her sunglasses and eyes, as I extended my hand to her.

"It's ok. I won't hurt you. Just come with me. I need to ask you some questions-"

I paused in middle my sentence as I stared into her face. When she looked up at me, her sunglasses slid halfway down on the bridge of her nose, revealing bloodshot red eyes, she had the same spark in her eyes, just like Mai. She squeaked softly at my hand and leaned herself more towards the wall.

For the second time that day, I sighed once again at her and left her sitting there for five minutes as I walked down the hall to Steve's body. Before I turned the corner, I heard her wail, "Wait!" and a stream of footsteps behind me.

The girl stood panting out of breath as she tried to stare into my eyes. She cleared her throat and stood up straight, with determination in her eyes, but her voice grew into a whisper.

"M-M-my name i-is Sumiko... if you n-need to as-ask me anything, c-come to the apartment room 221B."

"Thank you Sumiko-san. I will inform my boss with that information." I jerked my thumb to Naru lying in a heap of black on the carpet. She glanced over to Naru and winced nervously as she bowed quickly, in curtsy, and ran to the staircase. Glaring at the seventeen year old's face on the floor, I smirked lightly and hoisted him off the ground and lay him crouched against the wall. Pulling out "my" cellphone I contacted Madoka for some...assistance... She always knew how to wake Noll up.

* * *

"Hello~! Madoka here~!" sang out a voice from the phone. I winced in pain from the loudness and held the phone a few inches from my ear.

"Madoka, I need your help," I said curtly as I heard banging from the background.

"Uh...Sure I can, if I finish up these busters...OH SNAP!" With that, an ear-splitting clash was heard from the speaker. I grinned nervously at the phone while trying to block my other ear from the eardrum being utterly destroyed. Bringing it back up, I lowered the cell's volume and placed it next to my ear again.

"Madako..."

"Yeah Lin?"

"What are you doing right now?"

(silence on the phone)

"Ummmmm...doing the dishes?" she whispered.

Rolling my eyes I answered her. " So what did you do this time?"

"Well, I was climbing down the stairs to the cafeteria and all, but I felt something tug on my leg and I rolled down the stairs. I crashed into this girl with all these breakfast plates loaded on her, and BAM! I collided with her and the dishes went flying. Now I'm stuck here in the kitchen cleaning the dishes for payback from the damn ass cook, who can't even take an apology." she grumbled lightly to herself, as I heard a voice in protest.

Chuckling lightly, I switched to m serious tone. "Madoka, I want you out of the kitchen now."

"Why? I still need to do these damn-"

"Madoka, Noll is currently unconscious and we have a victim on our side too."

"OMIGOSH! ANOTHER VICTIM?" shouted Madoka. Another headache coming my way. I felt my body sag with fatigue, I said.

"Call the rest of the team here. I'll be in charge now. And make sure you bring a medic or Ayako here. I think both boys are in a severe condition."

"On it Lin. Be there with everyone in a couple of minutes." She hung up and I snapped the phone shut. I walked over to the five year old boy. Crouching at the Steve's level, I placed my hand at his forehead. It was _ICY COLD_. And when I meant icy cold, I meant like his body temperature was dropping rapidly.

* * *

**(Sumiko's POV)**

Racing down the stairs, I hurriedly pushed back up the glasses to cover my crimson irises. Skipping two steps at a time, I reached the second floor and fished my apartment room key and quickly unlocked the door. Darting through the door, I bolted it shut and leaned against it, slowly sinking onto the floor.

_"What was that? I just came out from the elevator, and wanted to get down to my room, when this gorgeous-_no scratch that- _when this brutal guy just stared asking me who I was and chocked me! His eyes looked so cruel and it looked as if he wanted to murder me.I really felt like I was going to die there!_

Making sure that no one was around me, I took slow steps to the kitchenette, and fixed myself a pot of Green Tea. Slipping into my bedroom, I quickly changed into comfortable sweats and a long sleeve and hastened my pace to the boiling teapot. Returning back to my room, I settled myself onto the bed, with a cup of steaming tea, and a comforter wrapped around me and over my head like an Eskimo coat. I sat their in silence, listening to the soft hum of the bedroom lights, and still holding the liquid in front of me. Retracting my knees closer to my chest, I thought to myself.._..__What could have happened if I was found dead?_

I found myself staring at a picture frame neatly propped on my desk. The picture was at an amusement park, the people's faces covered by the glaring florescent lights. I tried to remember the faces and the memory of the park, but a shot of deep pain hit me and my head started throbbing 100 miles per hour. The faces...were almost an inky blurry of black, there was no way that I could see them. Clutching my head, I started to pant feverishly and it soon vanished as I sipped my tea._ All better I guess... _Climbing into the covers, I snuggled between the pillows and laid my head down. My eyes started to droop off the sleep as I thought of one thing.

_"Help...me...Grandma...Onee-chan..."_

_

* * *

_**(Normal POV Base)**

Lin sat at the corner of the room, typing away on his laptop as usual. Everyone else crowded around Naru's sleeping form on the chair, waiting for him to wake up. Meanwhile, Steve was lying on a traditional Japanese _futon_ with portable heaters around him and a wet rag in case he ran a fever, while his mother stared at him with concerned eyes. 7 hours ago, the team had found Naru and Steve's body on the carpet floor and carefully carried them downstairs, without waking them up. Yoko-san could feel the tension and concern around the room for their sleeping narcissistic boss. Feeling bored and depressed by the fact Naru wasn't going to wake up anytime sooner: Ayako and her husband turned to watch the screens, Yasuhara (surprisingly) quietly read his trick teaser book he got from Christmas, and John and Masako did a surveillance of the rooms. Madoka paced back and forth through the room, biting her thumb in a confused manner and worried whether she should return to clean the dishes. And Lin was still siting their with the laptop.

A moan escaped from the teen's mouth, as everyone's heads turned towards the sound. Blinking sleepily at the team and client, Naru stood upright quickly and couched once, covering his mouth with a fist. Before he could say anything, Madoka rushed over to her former student and wrapped her arms into a crushing bear-hug.

"Oh my gosh Naru! You nearly scared us all when you fainted. What in the world happened?It's already nighttime!" The older woman explained as she pulled away from Naru.

He still sat, ridged from Madoka's impact. Snatching his notebook from the table, he flipped to a certain page in the black book, furrowing his eyebrows as he read the words. Everyone stared at Naru's expressions and actions as the room became a state of quietness. John was the first to interrupt the silence as he filed into the room, with Masako in tow from their ghost sensing detour.

"Oh, Shibuya-san. You are up." replied the priest cheerfully as he busied himself by making tea for himself and the girl.

"Un," said Naru as he completely ignored John's presence and continued to read. Leaning back against the chair still not taking his eyes off the damn book.

"Umm...Naru...John was about to report his findings around the rooms...?" Monk intervened, cocking an eyebrow in the teen's direction.

Glaring back at him Naru stated coldly, "So what. I don't realy care right now. John make a cup of tea."

Uncrossing his legs, Lin shoved his laptop under the table and walked over to Naru Grabbing him by the collar, Lin started to rapidly talk to him in English.

**"Noll, stop acting like a brat and snap out of it!"**

**"Whatever. I'm almost at a legal age so you don't have to concern about me anymore-"**

**"Stop sulking, stupid student! Don't interrupt your former combat teacher." **screamed Madoka in English.

**"I am not sulking for your information-"**

**"DON"T TALK BACK TO ME OLIVER DAVIS. YOU ARE ONLY 17 AND YET YOU STILL ACT LIKE A SPOILED CHILD FROM THIS MORNING? TELL ME WHAT IS WRONG," **hissed Madoka as she went on a fuming rampage, with Bou-san and John trying to refrain her from breaking anything. Lin let go of his student's shirt, and went over to calm his wife.

Naru fell silent as those words echoed through his mind. "_You still act like a spoiled child from this morning? Tell me what is wrong."_ Seeing a chance of escape, Naru turned away from the group with still his notebook in the crook of his arm and said both in English and Japanese, **"I'll take my leave now."**

Slamming the door shut, Yoko-san looked up at the ghost investigators who were still recovering from their shock and asked, "Is your boss always as grumpy as this?"

"Nope, but over time, it will gradually get worse," grimaced Yasuhara as he took his shift at the monitors.

"He's got total anger issues man!" Bou-san huffed.

"But we didn't even get to report to Naru about the rooms..." Masako trailed off as she covered her hand with her kimono sleeve, to fake a gasp. But in reality, to hide her snarl for her former lover, and almost sending telepathic signals to him saying, "_What is your damn problem? And everyone was trying to be nice to you when you woke up! Stupid narcissist indeed."_

_

* * *

_

**(Naru's POV)**

Sneezing really loudly while thumping down the stairs, I thought to himself, "_Why the hell am I sneezing now? The Oliver Davis should never get sick._ With a grunt in response, I reached the second floor and proceed to cross to the elevator for some food in the cafeteria. _Good thing I studied the blueprints before coming here. This place is so complex! _Passing several rooms before spotting the descending staircases and elevator, I strode gracefully through the hall, until I heard sobs, racking in and out, from room 221B suddenly stopped as I entered to investigate.

Remembering that our little "phenomenon" loved to haunt the residents here, I jiggled the doorknob for safety. Surprisingly, it was unlocked and I opened it. The room consisted of a small kitchen connected to a small room that was closed. A tiny bathroom occupied near the room. For an ordinary apartment rental, there was no T.V. nor was there a living room. I heard the crying sobs again coming from the behind the door. Opening the crack of the door slightly, I spotted a figure huddled underneath the sheets. I gingerly lifted the sheets lightly to reveal the girl from earlier in the hallway, where I nearly chocked her to death. She whimpered quietly as she clutched her pillow, obviously dreaming about something. I felt touched and wanted to stay by her side, like how I was attracted to a certain...person...

I sighed with relief that the voice from earlier hadn't come back to haunt me and smother her instead. Feeling hurt more than once today, I didn't want to wreak havoc anymore. Staring at the girl from the door frame, I saw how the moonlight reflected off her skin from the windows, making her face glow with radiance. _She looks so beautiful..._Realizing that I had said it out loud, I sucked my breath in as I looked at her for any signs of movement.

But she didn't say anything as she tossed in bed a bit before whispering fearfully, "Help...me...Grandma...Onee-chan..." Without thinking, I felt that I should comfort her. Crossing to one side of her bed, I knelt down and ran my hand through her head in attempt to soothe her. While my hand continued to brush her hair out of her face, she whispered,"So warm." She lessened her grip on the pillow and finally fell into a dreamless sleep.

Widening my eyes at what I just did, I stole one last glance at her and shuffled quietly to the front door. With one last look at the door, I found the owner's name on the bronze plate. It read _Sumiko Watanabe_. Smirking at the name, I walked back to the elevator, content with my new information.

As the elevator doors closed on me, I didn't notice, but the girl woke up just as I stepped through the doors. Sumiko touched her short hair gently. It felt warm and soft, as if someone just brushed it. Smiling at the tips of her hair, she laid back onto the backboard of the bed and closed her eyes.

* * *

Ugghhh...finally finished... sorry if I wasn't updating that often either! :/ I had school and had a HUGE writer's block in front of me! But now I'm back. TO clear up some confusion, the apartment is designed so that the staircases lead from floor to floor and is not connected to the lobby, and the elevator goes only from the cafeteria to the top floors and is connected to the lobby too. You will find out why later hehehehehhe. confusing huh? :P

yeah...when I wrote the beginning, I was being a bit moody and emo during that time so don't mind me! I keep switching back and forth to Naru's POV cuz its so fun to write about! and I just **had** to insert a bit of Ln and Madoka-ness in the chapter just to make it cute XD

Oh and I have been busy reading other fanfics like Mai's the One by Nosanity1, Once Upon a Fairy Tail by vampirerulez, and Fox Trot 9 asked me to read her The Whitechapel Case, and I have been reading all these other fanfics! Sorry for the delay!

Anyway I choose Sumiko's room with random numbers and realized that it is the same numbers as Sherlock Holmes house! I was like "Whoa! KARMA!" Anyway hope you enjoyed the chapters so far!

**_PLEASE R&R. I EAT OFF OF REGULAR FOOD AND GET A DAILY DOSE OF REVIEWS EVERYDAY TOO YA KNOW!_**

Over and Out,

CH


	7. Reminiscing Memories

**Hey minna-san~! I'm back! That author's note was just an excuse to get a ways for a while because I ran out of ideas. But here's the next chapter! :D oh and I nearly forgot! Sumiko has WHITE hair but cut like Mai's. And she has crimson eyes. I just decided to change it just 'cuz...**

**Mai: Aw...where do I come in? I'm been dying to know where the hell I come in...**

**CH: hehhehehehe you will get your part sometime later...**

***Ch gets suddenly whacked on the head from behind.***

**CH: WHOA! WHY DID YOU DO THAT NARU? You could had killed me! T_T**

**Naru: *smirks* Well you have been such an idiot of listening to TOO many Korean songs by like Big Bang or something, and see all these mobs outside MY house? They are pestering me...*glares at CH* Your fault-**

**CH: Okay, okay! I get it! Sorry! Don't give the chills Naru...Anyway Mai! Disclaimer Mai, before Naru kills me for creating a mob of reviewers outside his house!**

**Mai:**_ CH does not own Ghost Hunt or any of its characters...it all belongs to Fuyumi Ono, who wrote the story and us, and to Shiho Inada, who wrote out the manga! ^_^_

**CH: yeah...or else I would be screwed and running all over the world escaping from the government and stuff. And plus, I would have to go undercover and find wi-fi somehwere to type this up without being mobbed :P  
**

* * *

**Chapter 7: Reminiscing Memories. **

Recap: Widening my eyes at what I just did, I stole one last glance at her and shuffled quietly to the front door. With one last look at the door, I found the owner's name on the bronze plate. It read _Sumiko Watanabe_. Smirking at the name, I walked back to the elevator, content with my new information.

As the elevator doors closed on me, I didn't notice, but the girl woke up just as I stepped through the doors. Sumiko touched her short hair gently. It felt warm and soft, as if someone just brushed it. Smiling at the tips of her hair, she laid back onto the backboard of the bed and closed her eyes.

* * *

(Sumiko's POV)

_I had thought that I fell into a dreamless sleep, surrounded by darkness all around me and nothing else. But, I was wrong. I saw a similar figure out there, walking steadily towards me with a crazed grin on his face. In his hand held a bloody kitchen knife and the other had a coil of rope. I felt my legs buckle and panic spread through my body. He was here. _

_I crashed onto the ground and covered my face with my hands, whimpering softly. I felt my surroundings around get colder by the minute. The man continued to advance onto, placing the knife onto the ground and unwrapping the rope. My eyes widen in fright as I fruitlessly tried to scramble away from him. But it was useless. On in the view lay a surgical table that had clean sheets on it, but the walls were splattered with blood like paintballs. _

_The man roughly grabbed my collar and threw me against the table. I landed against the table, the metal colliding with my spine. I inhaled sharply at the pain as I struggled to stand up. But the man held me down with his strong forearms across my throat. On either side, he looped the ropes through the railings and tied them around my ankles and wrists, as if I was a sacrifice for a ritual. As I tried to move my arms and legs, the grip of the rope increased. The man appeared again in front of me, with his bloody knife. He smiled, but his eyes were full of lust as the knife came closer to my body. _

_I watched in horror as he spoke, "I'm going to play with you for a bit!" and the blade came closer to my cotton shirt, slowly and lightly slicing through the shirt underneath my breasts, revealing my pearly white skin. _

_His eyes widened in participation as he ran his forefinger across my skin. I gasped while trying to break free from these bonds. He then put on of his greasy hands on my side, massaging my skin. He picked up the knife from the table behind him and slowly but painfully, ran the knife to create claw like marks on my stomach, making it go deeper and deeper at every passing second. I tried to scream out loud, but was cut off the man. _

_"F-F-Father..." I whispered. "Why are you-you d-doing this to me?" My father didn't reply but continued to create those scars. I gave a yelp of pain every time the knife jerked forwards, making the wounds longer. I felt tears threatening to spill out from my eyes lids,and they did, trickling down my cheeks and plopping down onto the surgical table. Beads of sweat began to pile up on my forehead._

"_Please...stop..." I gasped in pain and gave a scream when he suddenly carved the blade down around my side. "And for the finale..." he chuckled manically, as he grabbed the knife's handle into his hands, the blade glinting dangerously. "No, n-o P-l-ease..." I stuttered, until he plunged the knife down into my stomach._

* * *

**(Normal POV)**

Sumiko woke up, nearly screaming her head off and panting heavily. Grabbing the hem of her shirt, the young teenager staggered off to the bathroom and leaned over the toilet. She felt her stomach lurch and her dinner contents spilled out. Sumiko held my head and groaned in fustration, leaning against the bathtub. Do things honestly have to turn out like this? I mean, me throwing up in the middle of the night? What's wrong with me? Suddenly, she heard her door bang open, the hinges rattling and her ears pounding from the sound.

"SUMIKO! YOU ALL RIGHT?" a yell sounded from the living room. For some reason, it sounded very familiar...Trying to move her vocal chords, she croaked out, "I'm h-...here," hoping that someone would hurry and wipe away that dream of hers and tell her it was okay.

And as if right on cue, a pair of feet ran to her bathroom, and slammed open the room. As she looked up, there he was. Natsume Aki, the landlady's son. (ha! you thought it was Naru huh :P) Aki scurried over to the sick Sumiko and tried to help her onto her feet. "You ok, Sumiko-chan?"

'Y-yeah...I guess," Sumiko said sighing as Aki led her away from the bathroom and steadied the young girl into a chair. And at that moment, the SPR team entered the small room where Sumiko and Aki were. The young miko fussed over Sumiko, checking for any bruises or cuts around her arms, while Takigawa-san steadily walked along the walls, prepared to chant his matra when needed. Lin stood surveying the two teens in the chairs, flipping open his laptop and jotting down some notes on his document.

"Anyone want a cup of tea?" Masako asked, covering her mouth with the sleeve of her kimono to hide the shock from her face. She and John hurried into the kitchen, fumbling for the teacups and the bags of tea. As Ayako lifted the hem of her night shirt, she gasped and cried out, "Oh my bloody god..." The team turned to stare at her, the Sumiko's blood slowly trailing down her stomach, and the fat drops of the dark liquid plopping down onto the white pristine carpet. Sumiko looked down at the shocked faces and finally took a quick glance a her stomach.

It was just like the dream... 3 claw-like marks scratched on either side of her sides, right under the ribs, making a total of 6 fatal scars. The blood started to seep through her white t-shirt and her pajama pants. She stared at her wound, wide eyes and her mouth agape. Tears squeezed out of the corner of her eyes, making tear-stained trails along the sides of her face. Sumiko tried to cover her mouth from regurgitating from the awful sight, while trying to stop the blood from flowing.

Ayako tried to pry Sumiko's hands from the stomach scars to bandage it up, but to her frustration, the young distraught teen continued to struggle and started the whisper some gibberish hysterically, her white-snowy locks flying all over the place. "No... Please... No Daddy...please... No...**DON'T TOUCH ME!**" she finally screamed, flinging away the protesting hands and arms away from her, and covered her ears. She screwed her eyes shut and tried to avoid the yells of the SPR team and dodged Lin's attempt to stop her from reaching her door. She gave Lin a sharp kick to the shin, making him stagger slightly and loose his balance.

Darting under Lin's out stretched arm, she jerkily turned the doorknob and fled into the hallway, trying to catch her breath as her footsteps reached the elevator. She pressed the button that led downstairs and threw worried glances over her shoulder before it opened. The door of her residence opened and she saw Ayako and Takigawa-san run out, their hair flying behind them as they tried to stretch their arms to her. Sumiko, shocked, turned on her heel and prayed desperately that the doors would finally slide open and save her from these shouts and screams from ehr room. Behind Akyako was Aki, bypassing the two adults and racing down the halls to Sumiko. The doors of the elevator soon opened and she slid into it, pressing the door close button and the doors slowly slid closed, just like in a movie. Aki tried to yell at her to come back and tried to grab her hand, but she averted her gaze to the elevator carpet the doors closing into his face. "SUMIKO!" Aki screamed, slumping against the elevator doors.

* * *

**(Sumiko's POV)**

I know I had to leave them behind, but I don't know...I feel really dizzy and my head hurts so much...I felt myself crash down on the soft carpet, the blood flowing quickly into my head and memories resurfacing. I shivered at this contact as I tried to pull myself against the elevator's side and lean against it. The scars on my stomach continued to bleed as I winced at it. Placing my hand over my forehead, I sighed and leaned back. What the hell? I wasn't feeling too good. And besides, why was I yelling at them? I had no right to do that...But I mean I just woke up from a terrifying dream, and I just wanted a bit of time for myself, not a whole group of people surrounding me...I mean I have been living at home by myself for the past few years that my mom wasn't here, and I don't need anymore pity, I have had enough.

But I saw a distant memory of a cup of tea sloshing along the the rim and filled with bright lights and laughing people. They started to slap on the back and made jokes at me as I blushed, Shibuya-san and Lin-san coming in the room with serious faces. What were these thoughts? I don't even know these people! I think I'm going crazy... As I stared at the glass outer covering of the elevator, I passed by several floors, spotting the location of the base all the way below from the 5th floor. Well whatever, I think I'm just going to cool off at the cafeteria and go somewhere to calm my nerves.

I giggled at that thought, until I felt a sudden jolt and a cold atmosphere surround me, the temperature decreasing rapidly. I felt my stomach twist into an uneasy knot as I tried to back away. No...why was he here...out of all places? WHY? The elevator lights blacked-out, and the power shut down, the shaft swinging dangerously from its suspending cords. I stood up abruptly, trying find a sort of defense or something. But in an elevator, what can you do? I walked over to the center and tried to stop my knees from shaking, and my arms freezing to death.

A sinister laugh echoed through the elevator shaft, chills crawling up my back and my fingers becoming numb with the coldness. A rush of wind blew past me as I crumpled down again, my hands clawing the sides of the glass elevator, trying to cry out for help, from anyone. Please, someone help me! I heard a chuckle from behind me and said," No one can hear you...my beloved child Sumiko..."

And let out an ear-piercing scream, as the elevator's cords finally snapped and plummeted down at a neck breaking speed.

* * *

Phew! How was that people? Well, ya here's the thing! I am offically going to make my chapters shorter now so that I can update faster. Well cause I have this REALLY strict curfew since I'm only in middle school and I don't have a laptop to update as fast... And i'm not editing! I'm really busy. You like it? great! THE BLUE BUTTON BELOW IS WAITING FOR YOU AWESOME REVIEWS, IT REALLY WANTS SOME! ;D

-CH


	8. Author's Notice

**Hello Minna-San/subscribers,**

This is CH here, and today I would like to make an announcement. (a very long one...) I am truly sorry if I haven't been posting things up as of lately (*ahem* for 3-5 months already) because I have been enjoying my summer with vacations, family visits, etc! so tired... and SCHOOL IS HERE SINCE LAST WEEK! :O I have also have been getting obsessed at writing this site. (On Profile) Visit me- windscimitars!

* * *

**TOD LIST BEFORE 2011 ENDS:**

-request of a ColxLal fanfic/one-shot from Lil' Chrome-Chan

- request for a little omake continuing after "Zero Gravity"

- An no Exorcist one-shot w/ Rin and Shiemi (coming soon!)

-SOME serious rewriting on "Betayal in the Dark" and "A Spooky Winter Tale"

* * *

**REQUESTING:**

Oh and for this year, I am opening up requests for writing pieces/chapters for any of these animes below: (NO YAOI BY THE WAY!)

_Katekyo Hitman Reborn_

_Psychic Detective Yakumo_

_Ao no Exorcist_

_Ghost Hunt_

_Fairy Tail_

_Full Metal Alchemist_

_Soul Eater_

I also take any other anime/manga requests, but I have to verify first if I have seen it/read it before. If you wish to make a request, _**ctrl copy and paste this form into a PM and send it to me**_. I'll maybe take the first 5-7 requests... Don't expect them to be all done in a jiffy though :P school is here already, and I'll try and see if I can squeeze some in!

_**Request from:**_

_**Anime/Manga Title:**_

_**Pairings/Couples: (If available/wanted)**_

_**Style: (short story/few chapters, one-shots, long story, song fanfic, etc.)**_

_**Song: (For song fanfics only)**_

_**Rating: (K-T only)**_

_**Genre(s):**_

_**Complete or in-progress:**_

_**How you want it done: (description, whatever you want to happen in it. Something among those lines)**_

* * *

Also, please review one these stories pages you would like "Betrayal in the Dark" and/or "A Spooky Winter Tale" to be rewritten. Add in some criticism/suggestions if you want them to progress any further.

Signing out~!

CodeHalo


End file.
